Fund firms reveal big downturn in Isa sales

An unprecedented number of fund firms have released their Isa season sales figures early, putting an end to the speculation of the past few weeks.

The figures confirm most of the industry&#39s fears, with many providers suffering substantial losses on last year. Jupiter and Merrill Lynch were among the worst hit, with sales down by up to 60 per cent.

Fidelity won yet another convincing victory although its sales of £483m since the start of the year were down by 25 per cent. But sales for the whole tax year were down by just 6 per cent after strong sales at the end of 2000.

Invesco and Perpetual say they can only provide figures through a stockmarket announcement. M&G will make an announcement on April 20. Gartmore reported sales down by 25 per cent and Aberdeen saw a drop of 40 per cent.

Best Invest deputy managing director Jason Hollands says it is worth taking some figures with a pinch of salt. He says: “These figures are very sensitive and many companies manipulate them.”

Recommended

Scottish Life International has introduced the fifth series of its stockmarket linked income and growth bonus bond.This offshore bond has a three year term and gives investors the choice between two income options and a growth option. They can select an annual income of 11.2 per cent gross, a quarterly income of 2.7 per cent […]

The combination of the 1 per cent price cap and setting up a with-profits fund was not one the majority of providers felt they could offer in a way that would compete with other products that were either stakeholder or with-profits. The problem with including with-profits within a stakeholder framework is that whatever capital is […]

Cheltenham & Gloucester is taking over from NatWest as the title sponsor of county cricket&#39s premier one-day knockout tournament in England and Wales. Sponsorship of the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy runs until the summer of 2003. The first round of the competition starts on Tuesday, May 1. C&G says the £3m deal further reinforces its […]

It was great to see our industry picking up on the themes of product relevance in 2016 and making it easier to access protection cover. But the biggest change I saw in 2016 was a shift to talking more about the end customer and building the right propositions for them. Following the events of last […]

Newsletter

Latest from Money Marketing

A High Court judge says the FCA can submit evidence in a case that could shape how Sipp misselling claims are handled in the future. In the case, which started today, lorry driver Russell Adams alleges Carey Pensions missold him a self-invested personal pension. Carey Pensions is accused of using unregulated introducers to invest Adams’s […]

Studies have found funds can be too big or too small to outperform, suggesting size does matter The assessment of whether to invest in a certain fund is a tricky business. Bearing in mind roughly 90 per cent of active funds do not beat their benchmarks over periods longer than 10 years, the odds are […]

The following sorry verse embodies procrastination on a whole new level: “Hello there, my name’s Phil; I rap like a small bear writing a will [diligently]; Estate-planning, ninja-whooping IHT; Shame I’m not as bizzie [urban affectation] with the RLP.” These words were penned in response to my father’s short verse sent to me, after the […]